GMI Construction Group wins contract to deliver MIRA Technology Park R&D units

By Nicky Godding

2 April 2024

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Members of the delivery team mark the official start on site at MIRA Technology Park

GMI Construction Group has been awarded a £16 million contract to deliver the next units on Europe’s largest automotive research and development cluster as well as new major infrastructure providing access to the new plots being developed.

The project forms part of the major masterplan expansion of MIRA Technology Park (MTP), near Nuneaton, Warwickshire, by HORIBA MIRA and Evans Randall Investors, with the project delivery managed by Swanvale Developments.

A groundbreaking ceremony was held to mark commencement of Plot 9, which is divided into two expansive units, each providing 36,000 sq. ft of high-quality office and technical space.

The growth in the MIRA cluster is being fuelled by advances in low-carbon automotive technology, including electric vehicle development, cleantech fuels, such as hydrogen, and emerging autonomous and connected car technologies.

Adjacent to the HORIBA MIRA test track and proving ground, the technology park is already home to 35 companies, including Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar Land Rover, Bosch, Toyota and Polestar. A major 2.3m sq. ft expansion to MTP was recently announced following planning approval.

The Plot 9 units will be steel framed using cladding that compliments the rest of the MTP development. They will consist of open plan workshop space, offices, service yards, and parking, and will be completed to CAT A fit out standard. The work also includes an adjacent access road and the installation of site wide services.

Andy Macdonald, Managing Director of Swanvale Developments, which has managed the project design, planning and delivery of the MTP masterplan since its inception in 2010, said: “The construction start of this next phase of facilities is another major landmark for MTP, building on the infrastructure investment and recent planning approval for the 2.3m sq. ft MIRA South Site. We look forward to working with GMI to deliver a high quality building which will be setting new benchmark standards at the Technology Park.”

Gareth Jones, GMI’s Regional Managing Director for the Midlands, said: “We are proud to play a role in further cementing MTP’s global reputation as a centre for sustainable automotive innovation through the delivery of additional research and development facilities.

“GMI already has a growing pipeline of work in the Midlands providing high quality logistics, manufacturing, creative, and residential space that drives inward investment to this region. We are delighted to be working with Swanvale for the first time and look forward to collaborating with them on future developments.”

By Nicky Godding

Nicky Godding is editor of The Business Magazine. Before her journalism career, she worked mainly in public relations moving into writing when she was invited to launch Retail Watch, a publication covering retail and real estate across Europe.

After some years of constant travelling, she tucked away her passport and concentrated on business writing, co-founding a successful regional business magazine. She has interviewed some of the UK’s most successful entrepreneurs who have built multi-million-pound businesses and reported on many science and technology firsts.

She reports on the region’s thriving business economy from start-ups, family businesses and multi-million-pound corporations, to the professionals that support their growth and the institutions that educate the next generation of business leaders.